Tangled Roots Craft Beer & Kitchen - Washington — Restaurant in Washington

Let’s get to the root of the issue.

Emily and I have been wanting to try this place out since they opened. I know quite a few people who have gone in the few months since they’ve been open and have heard a wide variety of reviews on the place, but that doesn’t deter me from trying a place out as I usually have a great time at most places I go…

The staff was super nice and friendly and the restaurant-side of things wasn’t too busy. We were trying to beat the dinner crowd and did just that. The waitress took awhile but when she showed up, she was amazingly friendly. We ordered waters and eventually were able to order some flights and food. For how slow it was, the waitress didn’t stop by at a normal frequency as most other establishments, so placing the initial flight order and then food order took longer than normal.

After about 10 minutes, our flights came out. I had peeked at their beer menu at work and saw too many tasty-sounding things to try, so I got the four items listed under Hoppy on the beer menu. Emily got her usual fruity/sour beers. I didn’t care much for the Midwest Emo but the other beers were okay. Wasn’t really preferring one over the other, but that could also be my taste preference. Emily liked most of her beers and ordered another Sunkisser as she was in love with that one.

At last, our food came out and we were ready to dive in. First fry in, I knew there was a problem. My fries weren’t cold but feel like they got cold and then re-heated under a warmer. They just had no life to them. A room-temp french fry is such a disappointment to eat. I debated saying something to the waitress, but she wasn’t around too much, and I just didn’t have an appetite for a whole other batch. I was also disappointed in the size of the Halfway to Nashville. It was no bigger than a large sand dollar. I think I had it mostly gone after 6 bites. Not only that but there was some mustard on it and I am not the biggest fan of mustard. It’s listed as a frittes aioli. It didn’t detract much from an otherwise unremarkable sandwich but definitely didn’t add much. On the plus side, Emily’s fries were hot, fresh, and tasted pretty decent. Not much flavor despite the seasoning but unoffensive overall.

Emily was enjoying her food but was disappointed in the fact that her grilled cheese looked more like a toasted cheese. For it being a grilled cheese, it looked like the bread was heated up in a toaster. Other than that, Emily’s meal was gouda. The price was a bit high for this place, in my opinion. For the two meals, two flights and a beer, the total was $70. Yikes.

I really hate being so negative and down on a place. I know that some of the things were on me (not loving the beer flavors, not knowing what frittes aioli is, and not getting replacement fries. But the overall experience left so much to be desired. Emily and I both agreed that we would like to come back and try the upstairs outdoor patio. Maybe when the weather cools off and my aversion to this place dies down a bit. The BBQ Brewmaster Burger on the menu did sound pretty good. Despite that all, I know Emily wants to try and check out their other locations...

Obviously we came on one of the busiest weekends…opening weekend. We were prepared and okay with waiting. We got to Washington around 5:30 pm. We waited an hour and an half before we could make it into the venue. We walked around the square and got drinks at other bars/pubs in the square. Again, we were okay with waiting because we love Tangled Roots in Ottawa. And enjoy bouncing around for a date night.

We got in and grabbed a drink at the roof top. One bartender served several others with drinks before even greeting us. Terrible service up there and I’m not kidding - like maybe 15-20 people with three bartenders. We had to walk around the bar to the back area to finally get greeted by (we assume is a general mgr). We were not the only ones upset that we were not greeted or even acknowledged. Several guests wouldn’t move or let others know they weren’t in line. Very annoying. We almost left.

Finally got sat. Around 7:50 pm. We waited for 1 hour and 45 minutes for our food. We got beer, talked, people watched, and played a card game. We actually got it boxed to go because we got hangry. We ordered beers, an app, and two entrees. Little to no communication about our food. We saw three tables get their food, so we asked for ours to go because it was 9:25 pm. Our sever and the manager on the floor explained our food was being boxed. Once we were told behind two orders then later told behind three? We didn’t leave until after 9:45pm. Five tables got their food before us. And one table got the same chicken sandwich as I did. I would have been happy to change my order if it was communicated that something was all out. I literally wouldn’t have cared.

I’ve been a sever and I totally get the frustration/anxiety for making sure a guest is fulfilled, but this was beyond that. The fact that we saw five tables get their food was maddening.

We tried to eat our food on the way home. Chicken sandwich, tots, and asparagus was great. Stay away from the tacos. Subpar.

Highly disappointed tonight. Paid well over $100. The manager gave us 20% off for our next visit. Expires in June… I’m not sure when we will back. We will probably skip this and go to the one near matthiessen/starved...

I really wanted to love this place. I had heard mixed reviews, and waited for a good month to try it, so that they could work out the kinks of being new. That being said, it was all around sub-par.

Started out by having to wait 15 mins for a table when I could see 10 open and clean. The host gave no instruction on an ability to wait upstairs on the patio, although from standing and watching, it seemed like that is what most did.

The pimento pub cheese dip appetizer was ok. Cheese was super oily, which is understandable, but the chips were dripping in oil as well. I got a hard cider which was fine.

The beef tacos were good, but not worth $19. Served with a side of the oily chips and a tiny cup of salsa. My salmon left a lot to be desired. The fish was very well cooked, but definitely underseasoned and swimmingin a pool of oil. Both veg on the side were way under cooked and still crunchy. Carrots seasoned well, but the asparagus very bland. The toasted ancient grains were practically inedible; bland yet burnt. There were black burnt flecks in them that tasted of ash, not just "toasted" lacked seasoning and also very oily. The fish portion was substantial, so I wouldn't have minded $30 if the fish would have been well prepared.

It took over 20 minutes to get dessert, and the cookie in the skillet cookie was raw in the middle. For what its worth the server was very sweet and repeatedly apologetic. The manager never checked on us, despite being there for 1.5 hrs - no loitering. I had even paid the check before the dessert came because it was taking so long.

Watched confused staff bringing an app out to the wrong table, who was already eating thier main course. I won't likely be going back, and if so, I'll stick to drinks and apps...